Outerra forum
User mods, screenshots & videos => Textures => Topic started by: KelvinNZ on January 20, 2013, 08:51:39 pm
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Hi all,
Just want to say that I have spent some hours trying to perfect the textures inside Outerra.
Feel free to pass comments.
I have reworked the following:
Rocks/mountains
Grass/Grass patches incl rock grass patches
Trees (only one kind so just recoloured slightly)
Sand
Snow
New
Replaced asphalt road texture
Replaced gravel texture
Added/tweaked foam texture
Removed (99%) tiling effect from grass (problem with my last attempt)
(http://i.minus.com/iAfPxZL7ij4Zp.jpg)
(http://i.minus.com/ioqZaKpgmOoOh.jpg)
(http://i.minus.com/ioP0J7dOFA5HU.jpg)
(http://i.minus.com/iMyOe6gNMk8VN.jpg)
(http://i.minus.com/iIXZ2jKgPC6mo.jpg)
(http://i.minus.com/ibcc4xFchLGf6i.jpg)
Hopefully this will make your "alpha" experience a little more "real".
Download here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uuhtpen7mnuv84v/Custom_textures_v2.zip (https://www.dropbox.com/s/uuhtpen7mnuv84v/Custom_textures_v2.zip)
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Wow. Looks nice from afar. Can't test to see how it looks up close (damn 4890).
Posted it here as well http://www.reddit.com/r/Outerra/comments/16yp22/kelvinr_has_made_some_custom_ground_textures_with/ (http://www.reddit.com/r/Outerra/comments/16yp22/kelvinr_has_made_some_custom_ground_textures_with/)
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Initially I had a hard time deciding how to attack the textures because as you know there are 4 seasons and I was having a little bit of a hard time deciding what look I was going to go as there are very few texture ranges. So i decided on a autumn/spring look because that's my favourite time of year, so the grass tries to depict this in it's tone.
The mountain colour was causing me a headache trying to decide what colour I was going to make them given that in real life there are many types of rocky mountain colours so I went with a darker grey with a new texture to try to make it generic but fitting to the area. I guess that's what you get with only a few textures.
The most difficult thing is actually avoiding the tiling effect on textures, this can look awful as i have experienced. But. if done right it can also look very nice indeed.
I have seen how the fractal procedure has worked with the textures with some of the patchy grass areas, a very ingenious way to implement such a visual challenge to textures.
Depending on how far the Biome is away I could re-texture again if Brano or Angry pig want to magic an extra vegetation area ;)
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Nice one! i always felt that the mountains felt a little too pale in bright day light. this one really does the trick
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I need to get a world "rock map" somewhere, to get a variation in rock types. Rock color usually isn't visible from above and the commonly available datasets do not contain it. There should be a geological map or something like that, but probably won't be available globally in a usable resolution.
Before the biomes there probably will be another slight change in the textures, adding normal maps for them for better detail near the ground.
Apart from the textures and terrain mixer there are also other currently hidden parameters that modulate the overall color of the material - for example see how the grass is being colorized when you are farther from it.
IMHO, those rocks have an odd greenish tint.
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That sounds great Cameni. I'm looking forward to the improvements with the biomes!
Marko
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That sounds great Cameni. I'm looking forward to the improvements with the biomes!
Marko
I might see if there is some sort of global rock data. funny you should mention it but I was going to reduce the green in the rock.
I do see what you mean about the geass colour changing when you get farther from it.
EDIT: Ok, it's tricky to even find useful data that would represent the world of rocks.
Even knowing about the following rock types one would need to gather textures from across the globe (via the internet) to even get useful textures. However, it's knowing where each rock type is situated and then placing them using fractal procedure would be very challenging. Cameni, do you intend to access some sort of basic data for the rock types?
SEDIMENTARY ROCKS
METAMORPHIC ROCKS
IGNEOUS ROCKS
I've always been interested in being a texture artist but never really followed this as a career. I would be happy to do this sort of thing for the Outerra world as i'm sure you will need many textures.
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There's a good source of prepared textures at cgtextures.com (http://www.cgtextures.com/), we are taking most of them from there. Our source textures are usually seamlessly tiled 2048x2048 textures, currently downsampled to 512x512.
But for the rock coverage we would need a global map of rock type distribution, just like the biome maps that have 500m resolution. As with everything, it will be possible to modify the rock type locally via vector overlays, but it would be nice to have a global base to start with.
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That sounds good and this site has a very large range of textures. It would be good to be able to work on some of these for Outerra once it allows for more textures. I'm quite the perfectionist.
I have actually removed the green from the rock image I reworked, I didn't realise how much green there was; probably staring at the screen for too long at once because when I came back to the texture I could definitely see the odd green you spoke of.
I have updated the texture file in the Version 2.0 zip file above to correct the green tint. I have also used another texture that i think looks quite pleasing to the eye.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/uuhtpen7mnuv84v/Custom_textures_v2.zip (https://www.dropbox.com/s/uuhtpen7mnuv84v/Custom_textures_v2.zip)
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Glad to see that people are looking at this and it's beginning to come online! 8)
monks
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I need to get a world "rock map" somewhere, to get a variation in rock types. Rock color usually isn't visible from above and the commonly available datasets do not contain it. There should be a geological map or something like that, but probably won't be available globally in a usable resolution.
not sure about this, but isn't this distributed by the blue marble data from nasa? i think that is what eric bruneton used for proland after all. but more probably i am shooting in the very wrong direction here...
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I meant a map of rock types around the world, so that rocks can be textured properly for given location in the world.
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I'm scouring the net for usable images to texture from. I am actually using a process called "doing it manually" and going through each continent and trying to get the main areas of rocky terrain to match with textures I have already. I am also looking at the main mineral rock types of the earth igneous, metamorphic, and sedimentary and working down to find examples of each i.e basalt, bedrock, granite, etc... and then going to each region to determine the most common rock types. It is a hit and miss process but until something else comes up this is what i'm doing to match textures to rocks and where they belong.
I'm doing this same process with soils to match different Biomes which I have found to be a little more friendly.
Funny though, The one of the main sites I am using currently for rocks is a New Zealand University site:
http://flexiblelearning.auckland.ac.nz/rocks_minerals/rocks/diorite.html (http://flexiblelearning.auckland.ac.nz/rocks_minerals/rocks/diorite.html)
then
http://geology.com/rocks/ (http://geology.com/rocks/)
then
http://www.sandatlas.org/rock-types/ (http://www.sandatlas.org/rock-types/)
Kelvin
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I don't know what's the correct word to say "schistosity" in english; this is the definition:
"The schistosity is the property of some rocks to fall apart along parallel planes."
There are a lot of processes going on in rocks sedimentation of course, not only schistosity.
The zone where I live is plenty of layer of rocks exposed so you can actually see the stratification.
Like this: (http://people.unica.it/lucakost/files/2008/10/discordanzacambroord.jpg)
(http://people.unica.it/lucakost/files/2008/09/canalipermguardpis.jpg)
(http://people.unica.it/lucakost/files/2008/09/rubanesptonnara.jpg)
I think that textures only cannot fully recreate these visuals... maybe it can be obtained in large scales with patterns and algorithms like grass and other items?
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Right now the rocks appear as soon as the terrain slope rises over some predefined threshold, and the rock shape is determined by horizontal displacement that's driven by fractals, as can be seen in this (quite old) picture:
(http://www.outerra.com/thumbs/t105b.jpg)
What I wanted to do was to incorporate also some real-world patterns of rock walls into it, so that different fault types could be simulated. It would work by performing a slightly randomized lookup into such a rock displacement map, and combining it with the existing fractal modulation.
I think there was a problem how to generate the horizontal lookup coordinate into the rock displacement map, that we haven't solved yet universally. It could work for rock walls created along the roads, but we need it also for canyons and cliffs etc.
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The download link is broken.
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Any changes on patterns of rock walls (and textures) for next releases?. I think it would be an awesome improvement for the realism to see places like this with rock layers and more "flat" walls:
Preikestolen
(http://megaconstrucciones.net/images/naturales/foto2/preikestolen-7.jpg)
http://megaconstrucciones.net/?construccion=preikestolen (http://megaconstrucciones.net/?construccion=preikestolen)
Cervino
(http://www.posets.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/cervino.jpg)
http://www.posets.com/blog/?p=1463 (http://www.posets.com/blog/?p=1463)
Blyde River Canyon:
(http://www.dailyfresher.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/Blyde-5690.jpg)
Famara beach (Lanzarote) (can't attach photo, but is an interesting transition between rock wall and sandy beach)
http://www.fotonatura.org/galerias/fotos/462146/ (http://www.fotonatura.org/galerias/fotos/462146/)
Teide (Tenerife, Canary Islands)
(http://www.vigoenfotos.com/tenerife/imagenes/teide/parque_nacional//g_vigoenfotos_8447r.jpg)
Volcanic
(http://elseptimoviajero.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/lanzarote.jpg)
http://elseptimoviajero.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/lanzarote-senderismo-entre-volcanes/ (http://elseptimoviajero.wordpress.com/2013/07/20/lanzarote-senderismo-entre-volcanes/)
(http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/01/14/0f/0e/volcanic-rock-formation.jpg)
http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g294314-d311726-i18091790-Sacsayhuaman-Cusco_Cusco_Region.html (http://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g294314-d311726-i18091790-Sacsayhuaman-Cusco_Cusco_Region.html)
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Could be a little challenge to find functions giving certain types of stones in great variability. Also, there might be some definition needed for it, to make the engine know, where what type of rock should be (in terms of local layers) and some blending between them. You would probably need some 3D map of mineral layering (but maybe some simple function whyte height and biome-type surrounding could be used too) for the whole globe - not sure if something like that was ewer done in scientific terms even in rough data-displacement. It would be really classy to have that, as ores and special minerals could be defined and modified for each planet (and greater realism achieved), but that would need probably some terrain modification tools too, to check, if ya can dig to that place to find, if its right, where it should be ... (and for us to speculate whyte - that means caves to be implemented too). ... and i need to make a heavy-tractor for that. :D
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I think if Outerra supplies the tools, then lots of busy beavers out there would start populating the world with various features.
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Could be a little challenge to find functions giving certain types of stones in great variability. Also, there might be some definition needed for it, to make the engine know, where what type of rock should be (in terms of local layers) and some blending between them. You would probably need some 3D map of mineral layering (but maybe some simple function with height and biome-type surrounding could be used too) for the whole globe - not sure if something like that was ewer done in scientific terms even in rough data-displacement. It would be really classy to have that, as ores and special minerals could be defined and modified for each planet (and greater realism achieved), but that would need probably some terrain modification tools too, to check, if ya can dig to that place to find, if its right, where it should be ... (and for us to speculate with - that means caves to be implemented too). ... and i need to make a heavy-tractor for that. :D
I'm not that savvy on technical things (and many other things haha), so this might be a naive idea, but wouldn't it be possible to label certain rock types directly into the source data for the world making? Maybe a second, hand-crafted, data source or something akin to how biomes work? Or even one map for elevation, another one just for the rock type?
(Again, really ignorant me trying to get the idea through)
http://i.imgur.com/idg2DzY.png (http://i.imgur.com/idg2DzY.png)
Where:
-Red is Limestone (http://seekraz.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/limestone-mountain.jpg (http://seekraz.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/limestone-mountain.jpg))
-Sky blue is Hawaiite (http://people.whitman.edu/~pogue/images/climbing/royal.jpg (http://people.whitman.edu/~pogue/images/climbing/royal.jpg)) and
-Yellow is Adakite (http://plate-tectonic.narod.ru/volal-adak_tundra.jpg (http://plate-tectonic.narod.ru/volal-adak_tundra.jpg))
Wouldn't make sense in this case, it's just an example.
The outcome wouldn't be absolutely realistic, but it would add a lot of diversity and make the scenes more believable.
There could even be different fractals patterns for each rock type to get distinctive shapes. The same could be applied to coast lines so not all of them are just sand (or the same kind of sand, in Alaska and many other places, the coast is form by small spherical rocks).
There is more to it, mountains aren't shape sorely based on the type of rock (if anything, that's holds more relevance on the colouration and texture), the kind of erosion that affects the area would also close the gap between the real world and Outerra. But that does start to complicate things a bit too much. Maybe just setting up a couple of archetypes that would determinate the way rocks and elevations are made would give enough control to allow crafting believable landscapes.
Again, simple example:
-Sedimentary rock 1 (http://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/~oesis/field/medium/quartzite.jpg (http://www.earth.ox.ac.uk/~oesis/field/medium/quartzite.jpg))
-Sedimentary rock 2 (http://anotherwalkinthepark.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/capitolreef_canyonlands1-3172.jpg (http://anotherwalkinthepark.files.wordpress.com/2013/09/capitolreef_canyonlands1-3172.jpg))
-Igneous rock 1 (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Ascension_Island_Black_igneous_rocks.jpg (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d3/Ascension_Island_Black_igneous_rocks.jpg))
-Igneous rock 2 (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/S-Basalt.JPG (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a5/S-Basalt.JPG)) Polygonal basalt is awesome!
-Metamorphic rock 1 (http://vagrantviking.com/images/Def%20and%20Met1.jpg (http://vagrantviking.com/images/Def%20and%20Met1.jpg))
-Metamorphic rock 2 (http://saturniancosmology.org/files/geology/Sect2_1a_files/Slide1.jpg (http://saturniancosmology.org/files/geology/Sect2_1a_files/Slide1.jpg))
*Note: the metamorphic rock is, basically, some other type of stone modified by the action of some external factor (water, wind, etc), not something that would cover big landmasses, but would work perfectly for certain parts.
This would increase vastly the possibilities for fictional worlds, where people isn't expecting a 1:1 reproduction of how things look IRL and the creators can take some creative freedom.
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It's one of the things we want to do, and Kelvin also found some usable global datasets for the rocks that we need to compile into OT format and incorporate into the generator, using it initially for the textures. It will probably contain probabilities of major rock types, with fractal mixer picking up the most probable one for given location.
From that we should be also able to use it for modulation of fractal patterns, but for that we need to do some testing first.
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Did you have a look at www.onegeology.org (http://www.onegeology.org) for the rock maps? If you need any help in determining the best textures for a rock type I could help due to my occupation as a geologist and sedimentologist.
I think it would be quite easy to determine a specific regional texture set based on the geology that is prevalent. This does not include a distinction between sedimentary, metamorphic and magmatic rocks, necessarily. It should be done at leasy by continent and/or climatic region due to specific differences between the continents and weathering (in turn due to differences in rainfall, yearly average temperatures, etc). It comes down to how detailed you guys want to include the geological "background" in determining the textures.
Based on the geological maps it is very straightforward to determine stratification patterns (yes or no), prevalent color and general structure of the rocks. For example, magmatic rocks are, in general, not stratified, while both sedimentary rock and metamorphic rock (schist) can both show layering/stratification. In the group of sedimentary rocks, there would be a distinct difference between limestone and sandstone for example, with limestone being more whitish/greyisch and sandstone tends to be more yellowish. Both also show differences in their general look, with massive resistant limestone (except for karst) and layered, detailed sandstone. This can be determined using a geological map, more specifically a lithology map (not a map of geological age!).
Cheers,
Andy
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Cameni if you do this it will be freaking off the hook. Then it will really look lifelike.
Hope we'll see some progress towards that soon. :)
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Yes we saw the site back when looking at the rock data. If I remember it right, Kelvin tried to contact onegeology.org for info about a global lithological dataset that we could use, but I don't remember him getting an answer. But maybe he'll be able to give more info.
We have exchanged a few emails with a couple of geologists from USGS who pointed us to some partially usable data, like the US-only geologic maps at http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/ (http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/state/), or a (too coarse and general) world maps at http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/worldgeol.html (http://mrdata.usgs.gov/geology/worldgeol.html). There's now also GLiM (http://www.geo.uni-hamburg.de/de/geologie/forschung/geochemie/glim.html), but we haven't checked that one yet.
Of course, we would be grateful for any help from an expert in this regard. We ended up looking at a USGS dataset with discrete sample points and base rock types / colors, that I planned to project into global probability maps that could be used by OT generator (which is working with probabilities). Those samples are problematic though - not consistent lithological data and coverage, from what I've been told.
Getting representative seamlessly repeatable textures isn't actually such a big problem, but proper categorization and matching with a global map data is. Also, to be able to produce the right look for given rock type, we need to create some seamless rock pattern textures (a kind of bump maps), that will be used by the generator as the source from which it can create proper shapes procedurally. We will probably have to create these from photos of cliffs, provided we can find a suitable collection of photos with similar scale.
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Based on what you have written, the following publication and the datasets might be of great value for you guys:
Article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012GC004370/abstract
Gridded test dataset (0.5 degrees; low resolution): http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.788537
The main author is Prof Hartmann of the University of Hamburg: http://www.geo.uni-hamburg.de/de/geologie/personen/hartmann_jens.html
You can contact him and ask for the availability of the data etc. You could, for example, make the case that Outerra could be used for research in terms of lithology, such as a visualisation tool etc.
If not, I could contact him and ask, although I do not know him personally, only some colleagues of his.
Cheers,
Andy
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
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Just try a quick mockup of a texture add to an ingame mountain screenshot. I tried to find the most boring type (without any other patterns, no snow, no grass). Looks like by doing an horizontal projection from a stone texture, it's possible to achieve an interesting effect. It's pretty much the same idea as the ground patterns but applied to mountains.
I guess at first, it would have to be pretty generic with a hanfull of possible pattern.
(http://i.imgur.com/hblB1gY.jpg)
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That would probably work very well in the grand canyon area........
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Based on what you have written, the following publication and the datasets might be of great value for you guys:
Article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012GC004370/abstract (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012GC004370/abstract)
Gridded test dataset (0.5 degrees; low resolution): http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.788537 (http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.788537)
The main author is Prof Hartmann of the University of Hamburg: http://www.geo.uni-hamburg.de/de/geologie/personen/hartmann_jens.html (http://www.geo.uni-hamburg.de/de/geologie/personen/hartmann_jens.html)
You can contact him and ask for the availability of the data etc. You could, for example, make the case that Outerra could be used for research in terms of lithology, such as a visualisation tool etc.
If not, I could contact him and ask, although I do not know him personally, only some colleagues of his.
Thanks, so that's GLiM. Relatively low res, but usable, provided we will be allowed to use it. We certainly plan for Outerra to be usable and useful for scientific purposes, but there are always some issues with getting the data or being able to use them for all purposes.
(http://i.minus.com/jYUqZWeKTD8HP.jpg) (http://minus.com/i/YUqZWeKTD8HP)
I wonder if we could get access to source or intermediate data that were used to make this, that would be better suitable for mapping to probabilities of occurrence. Although we can process also these types of color coded map data, there's a lot of information lost in the whole process, especially since the deduction of component probabilities is completely heuristic. I will contact Prof Hartmann to see what the possibilities are (I can list you in CC if you want). I hope I'll be able to express myself clearly, not mutilating the terminology or anything :)
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That would probably work very well in the grand canyon area........
In a lot of canyons around the world. But in shallow canyons, more accurate terrain data it would be necessary, apart from new patterns and textures, wouldn't it?
Hoces del Duratón (Spain)
(http://www.elbandolero.es/wp-content/gallery/entorno-sepulveda/hoces-duraton.jpg)
(http://www.viajaring.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Hoces-del-Durat%C3%B3n.jpg)
large photo
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_C_U_VY7yz-g/TFW3E2u1LDI/AAAAAAAAAM8/3g4YQSpGDZI/s1600/P1160643.jpg (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_C_U_VY7yz-g/TFW3E2u1LDI/AAAAAAAAAM8/3g4YQSpGDZI/s1600/P1160643.jpg)
Hoces del Cabriel (Spain)
(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GRe-BVzfFgE/Uqi7Vp30BJI/AAAAAAAAQFI/4ou4R4cDk38/s1600/Cabriel3.JPG)
(http://mural.uv.es/mamodo/imagenes/6.jpg)
"Hoces" is the plural of word "hoz", in spanish is used for narrow valleys like examples above
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoz_(geograf%C3%ADa) (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoz_(geograf%C3%ADa))
Other type of canyons (granitic?). In current state, engine does match very well :D :D
Cañón río Sil
(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-U9ChoMcWE8A/TuscN-DjOcI/AAAAAAAADNg/f4AVHxyRdA8/s1600/Rio+Sil+Ribera+Sacra.jpg)
Cheile Turzii
(http://www.photomaniacs.ro/poze_articole/mari/28.jpg)
(http://img.unica.ro/uploads/tx_images/cheile-turzii.jpg)
Related to this:
http://forum.outerra.com/index.php?topic=2589.15 (http://forum.outerra.com/index.php?topic=2589.15)
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Another interesting rock patterns ("fractured" rocks)
https://www.google.es/search?safe=off&espv=2&biw=1839&bih=995&tbm=isch&q=diaclasa&revid=1206852020&ei=b5YdVOWqE47TaPi_gNgB&ved=0CCMQsyU#safe=off&tbm=isch&q=diaclasa&imgdii=_ (https://www.google.es/search?safe=off&espv=2&biw=1839&bih=995&tbm=isch&q=diaclasa&revid=1206852020&ei=b5YdVOWqE47TaPi_gNgB&ved=0CCMQsyU#safe=off&tbm=isch&q=diaclasa&imgdii=_)
http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaclasa (http://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaclasa)
http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaclase (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaclase)
http://www.geowiki.fr/index.php?title=Diaclase (http://www.geowiki.fr/index.php?title=Diaclase)
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One of the things I'm waiting for eagerly are waterways. The lack of them in the current versions is pretty glaring, and when they are finally included, it will add a lot to the "natural feel" of Outerra.
Probably even more than clouds. At least with clouds you can imagine that it is just a very clear day, but nothing explains the missing water! ;D
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Based on what you have written, the following publication and the datasets might be of great value for you guys:
Article: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012GC004370/abstract (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2012GC004370/abstract)
Gridded test dataset (0.5 degrees; low resolution): http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.788537 (http://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.788537)
The main author is Prof Hartmann of the University of Hamburg: http://www.geo.uni-hamburg.de/de/geologie/personen/hartmann_jens.html (http://www.geo.uni-hamburg.de/de/geologie/personen/hartmann_jens.html)
You can contact him and ask for the availability of the data etc. You could, for example, make the case that Outerra could be used for research in terms of lithology, such as a visualisation tool etc.
If not, I could contact him and ask, although I do not know him personally, only some colleagues of his.
Thanks, so that's GLiM. Relatively low res, but usable, provided we will be allowed to use it. We certainly plan for Outerra to be usable and useful for scientific purposes, but there are always some issues with getting the data or being able to use them for all purposes.
(http://i.minus.com/jYUqZWeKTD8HP.jpg) (http://minus.com/i/YUqZWeKTD8HP)
I wonder if we could get access to source or intermediate data that were used to make this, that would be better suitable for mapping to probabilities of occurrence. Although we can process also these types of color coded map data, there's a lot of information lost in the whole process, especially since the deduction of component probabilities is completely heuristic. I will contact Prof Hartmann to see what the possibilities are (I can list you in CC if you want). I hope I'll be able to express myself clearly, not mutilating the terminology or anything :)
AS far as I can see, the data on Pangaea is Creative Commons licensed. Hence you can use it for every purpose you like. I am familiar with Pangaea since I have published stuff on there as well. As you said, even the raw dataset can be a great way to determine the general look of Outerra for a specific region. You can list me in the CC in your email to Prof. Hartmann if you want to, no problem (sent you a message with my email addres).
Thinking further: the soil and vegetation in the real world are resembling the color of the rock they're growing in, the thicker the soild cover the less of the original color is retained and usually the more organic material is incorporated (the blacker = the more organic stuff). Using the rocks as some sort of base, the soil textures could in theory be adjusted to resemble the rock colour. Also, vegetation can grow directly on the rock and doesnt always require soil. Also, specific rock types have specific vegatation that grows on them, such as for example sandstone/sandy soil = usually pine trees or limestone = wine and short scrub, this also varies depending on the biogeographic region of Europe (see data here: http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/biogeographical-regions-europe-1 (http://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/data/biogeographical-regions-europe-1)).
Second thought is that it might work to make slope profiles for major groups of rocks, such as sandstone or limestone. Hence, if the elevation data contains a steep cliff and the lithological map indicates limestone or sandstone one would, in general, expect a specific pattern for each of those rocks (such as distinct layering for sandstone, and massive + layering for limestone). If the elevation data indicates a flat area with sandstone, one could expect a specific rock texture. You guys probably thought about this already and I am just thinking out loud.
Also, dont forget reefs and atolls. There is a free but unfortunately non-commercial database of reef bodies in the worlds oceans: http://reefgis.reefbase.org/. (http://reefgis.reefbase.org/.) Since reefs are always within more or less -10 to -30 meters of water depth (at least satellite images show areas of reefs up to -30m) such a database could be used to create reefs all over the planet. I dont know of any other source unfortunately (yet).
Cheers,
Andreas
Edit: I might even create a map of the major reefs that you could use with the landsat images. Good training for me and usefull for you ;-)
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I would really love to try these texture but the download link is broken. Is there any chance of getting a new download link?